9 Comments

  1. I spoke about my personal experience with anxiety at a women’s conference in March of this year. I didn’t cry, but I did laugh. It felt good to be open and honest. Some of the older ladies there were nodding their heads as if to say “Yes, I get it.” There were also a ton of young mothers there. Several of them were crying. I hope what I said gave them hope and possibly a path to dealing with anxiety in better ways.

  2. I applaud your courage to show your own emotions. I know it is hard. As you know, my wife suffers from panic attacks. It’s a daily battle that even I don’t fully understand. Keep up the great work you are doing to educate folks.

  3. I have always had spells of anxiety/depression for the past 20 years or so. However it was worse back in Oct. 2016. I couldn’t do my job any longer. I would have to sit and breathe deeply in the car in the parking lot to just get out and walk in. I was a teacher, it got so bad that I would feel the flood gate about to break once the bell rang and I had to get up and walk to the board and start a lesson, and at the same time with the depression…having no motivation, was pure hell. I have analyzed and thought about my anxiety over the past 5 months while out of work, I can admit that’s why in a restaurant I always have to be sitting on the side of the table that faces out in the restaurant so I can see the door, I never want to sit and face a wall, I feel trapped. In faculty meetings, I would have to sit at a table on the outer part of the group because I couldn’t breathe sitting among all the people along with the need to be near the door, or have a clear path to escape. Finally, anxiety over the years has made me realize if I am going to attend anything with friends or family , I always drive alone and will not offer to let someone ride with me. Not because I’m rude or selfish, but if there comes the time in that social setting, and my anxiety pops up suddenly, I have to have a way out quickly and that is having my own car and I don’t have to worry about anyone else. Fight of Flight….with me majority of the time is Flight. One day I hope I could do like some people and go around and speak about this topic and share my struggles with depression/anxiety along with letting them know, it’s ok that you have this and we all can make it through it.

    1. Hi Jamie. I’m so sorry that your anxiety has become that debilitating. You don’t mention treatment? It sounds as if you’re experiencing social anxiety for sure, but I wonder about trauma in your history. There may not be, but some of your symptoms are similar to those of a trauma victim. I can hear that you’re making connections yourself, and that’s good. If you could find a group to talk with – groups are wonderful for anxiety. But certainly, I hope that you would seek good treatment somewhere. Thanks for listening in yesterday, and I hope some of my articles on the website,, or I also have a podcast on anxiety, could be helpful to you. https://drmargaretrutherford.com/002-selfwork-panicked-about-panic/

      1. I just love how you actually respond to comments. I have been in therapy. I have been seeing a psychiatrist since Dec. I will start seeing a psychologist in early May. I also started 2 weeks ago going to a local NAMI group support meeting. I had put off the psychologist mainly due to the fact I knew I’d have to release “the beast”..and fear that my mind isn’t fixable! But I have a lot of built up anger about issues in the past year or so, that really need to be sorted out. Do you have an email? I would love to send you a few things I have written, so that you could see how I am processing everything. And again! thank you for your thoughtful response, it means a lot! Glad I ran across you a few weeks ago! Have a great day!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.